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Her daughter yearned for the television, her son for his iPod. Both parents felt disconnected
without phones and computers. But for one week they left electronics untouched.Well, at least the
kids did.

“I can’t promise you that
we didn’t sneak over to them occasionally, but we tried very hard,” said Kim Carpenter,
who gave up technology as part of a challenge from her daughter’s school.

The contest at Scottish Corners Elementary was part of a national effort to forgo technology for
one week in favor of reading, family time and outdoor activities.

The challenge in previous years was to turn off the TV, but with so many alternatives, it now
casts a wider net.

The change is meant “to reflect the fact that so many of our students use countless different
types of electronic screens, quite excessively,” said Jennifer Schwanke, the principal, in an
email.

As studies have shown growth in the amount of time children spend with screens, other schools,
too, have sought ways to lure students away.

“They’re clicking their keyboards all the time,” said Robin Miller, who teaches health at Jones
Middle School in Upper Arlington. She recalled a school ski trip when she saw students on the bus
texting instead of chatting with the person in the neighboring seat.

To combat scenes like that, she started a euchre club that meets once a week for a stretch of
her eighth-grade health class. It’s a conversation lesson in disguise –– guests from a local senior
center help teach the rules and join the games, but Miller also instructs them to draw students
into banter.

“They really aren’t quite sure how to do that,” Miller said of the students. “If you’re playing
cards then at least it’s something to talk about.” Maybe, she hopes, when the class is over,
students will text less and spend more time being social.

About 40 students and parents gathered in the same spirit on Sunday at Wickliffe Progressive
Elementary School in Upper Arlington for a “ screen-free fun” night. Families brought games,
sidewalk chalk, anything without a digital screen.

Even at elementary schools, officials say phones are becoming ubiquitous.

“We’re seeing it move into the lower and lower grades,” said Felice Kassoy, the school counselor
who organized the event. “I don’t think screens are the enemy. I just think like everything else it
has to be used in moderation.”

During the week without screens, Carpenter’s 9-year-old daughter, Jaci, gave up the two hours of
TV she typically watches every day. Instead of watching her favorite shows, she would play soccer
with friends. Still, she often found herself wandering to the TV before remembering the ban.

“I didn’t like it at first but it got better towards the end,” said Jaci, who has since returned
to her old habits. “I had to make up for missing a few weeks of
Full House.” Glacier Ridge Elementary School in Dublin this year banned students from
using devices during recess, when weather keeps them inside, because the time is supposed to be
used to develop social skills.

While some teachers and schools attempt to draw students away from screens, many are also moving
to become more tech-friendly. In recent years, schools have eased cellphone restrictions, and many
now try to turn phones and tablets into tools for the classroom. New Albany-Plain schools this year
urged students to bring laptops and cellphones to school.

But teachers have also complained that students suffer in the classroom as a result of heavy
tech use, according to a report last year by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit advocacy
organization.

The group reported that, among 685 teachers surveyed, most feel video games, texting and other
tech entertainment hurt students’ attention spans, writing skills and their ability to talk
face-to-face. Another study from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that people between ages 8 and
18 spend an average of 7 1/2 hours a day in front of screens.

That’s why Anne Connelly and her three children at Scottish Corners also gave up technology for
a week at the end of April.

“I think people would be surprised at how nice it is to not have all that stuff on for a week,”
Connelly said, adding that the family spent more time together and played board games. “Sometimes
it’s harder to say no, but it’s worth it in the end.”